The vertebrae of the human spine are arranged in a column with one vertebra on top of the next. An intervertebral disc lies between adjacent vertebrae to transmit force between the adjacent vertebrae and provide a cushion between them. The discs allow the spine to flex and twist. With age or injury, spinal discs begin to break down, or degenerate, resulting in the loss of fluid in the discs, and consequently, the discs become less flexible. Likewise, the discs become thinner allowing the vertebrae to move closer together. Degeneration also may result in tears or cracks in the outer layer, or annulus, of the disc. The disc may begin to bulge outwardly. In more severe cases, the inner material of the disc, or nucleus, may actually extrude out of the disc. In addition to degenerative changes in the disc, the spine may undergo changes due to trauma from automobile accidents, falls, heavy lifting, and other activities. Furthermore, in a process known as spinal stenosis, the spinal canal narrows due to excessive bone growth, thickening of tissue in the canal (such as ligament), or both. In all of these conditions, the spaces through which the spinal cord and the spinal nerve roots pass may become narrowed leading to pressure on the nerve tissue which can cause pain, numbness, weakness, or even paralysis in various parts of the body. Finally, the facet joints between adjacent vertebrae may degenerate and cause localized and/or radiating pain. All of the above conditions, as well as others not specifically mentioned, are collectively referred to herein as spine disease.
Conventionally, surgeons treat spine disease by attempting to restore the normal spacing between adjacent vertebrae. This may be sufficient to relieve pressure from affected nerve tissue. However, it is often necessary to surgically remove disc material, bone, or other tissues that impinge on the nerve tissue and/or to debride the facet joints. Most often, the restoration of vertebral spacing is accomplished by inserting a rigid spacer made of bone, metal, or plastic into the disc space between the adjacent vertebrae and allowing the vertebrae to grow together, or fuse, into a single piece of bone. The vertebrae are typically stabilized during this fusion process with the use of bone plates and/or pedicle screws fastened to the adjacent vertebrae.
Although techniques for placing intervertebral spacers, plates, and pedicle screw fixation systems have become less invasive in recent years, they still require the placement of hardware deep within the surgical site adjacent to the spine. Recovery from such surgery can require several days of hospitalization and long, slow rehabilitation to normal activity levels.
Rather than spinal fusion, investigators have promoted the use of motion preservation implants and techniques in which adjacent vertebrae are permitted to move relative to one another. One such implant that has met with only limited success is the artificial disc implant. These typically include either a flexible material or a two-piece articulating joint inserted in the disc space. Another such implant is the spinous process spacer which is inserted between the posteriorly extending spinous processes of adjacent vertebrae to act as an extension stop and to maintain a minimum spacing between the spinous processes when the spine is in extension. The spinous process spacer allows the adjacent spinous processes to move apart as the spine is flexed. The extension stop spacers, however, also have had limited success.
Recently, the trend has been back towards fusion devices rather than motion preservation devices. One promising recent implant is a spinous process fusion plate. Similar to the fusion implants, the spinal process fusion plate promotes fusion between adjacent vertebrae to relieve pressure on the nerve. However, unlike more conventional spinal implant systems, the spinous process fusion plate facilitates less invasive procedures than conventional spinal fusion surgery. The need still exists for improved spinous process fusion plates.